Saint-Gobain rewards three start-ups at the 2015 NOVA Innovation
Competition

November 18, 2015 06:19 PM Eastern Standard Time

VALLEY FORGE, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Saint-Gobain, the world leader in sustainable habitat, announced the
name of the prizewinners of the NOVA Innovation Competition 2015 at the
Greenbuild International Conference & Expo in Washington, D.C. (United
States). This competition, organized by the NOVA External Venturing
group, recognizes start-ups offering innovative solutions in the fields
of building materials, energy efficiency, clean technology, integrated
lighting solutions, construction services, and innovative materials and
technologies.

The grand finale of the NOVA Innovation Competition culminated a
year-long search for the most innovative start-ups. Eight finalists were
selected from among an all-time record of 270 applicants coming from 37
countries and six continents. They fast-pitched their innovations to a
prestigious jury composed of twelve Saint-Gobain executives representing
global business management, corporate strategy, marketing and research
and development. At the end of the jury’s deliberations, the results
were announced during the Greenbuild Expo by John Crowe, Senior Vice
President of Compagnie de Saint-Gobain, General Delegate for North
America, and President and CEO of CertainTeed Corporation; and Didier
Roux, Vice President R&D and Innovation of Saint-Gobain. The prizes were
awarded to the winners before a large number of visitors, in the
presence of Roger Platt, President of the U.S. Green Building Council.

10x Technology and Ecovative Design are the cowinners of
the NOVA Innovation Competition, each receiving a $37,500 cash prize
(about €35,000).

10x Technology (Illinois, United States) has developed a
manufacturing platform that transforms basic materials into micro and
nanostructured products. Its roll-to-roll process uses polymers, metals,
and ceramics to obtain high value-added products used in the energy,
medical, electronics, transportation, defense, and habitat markets for
the differentiating properties they get from the surface structure. The
US-based start-up, founded in 2004, is constantly exploring with its
customers new potential applications, and proposes numerous
micro-structured products including infra-red optical lenses, drug
delivery devices, microfluidic systems for medical diagnostics, or films
which, when applied to windows, help provide more daylight in tertiary
buildings such as offices, schools or hospitals. “We are innovators in
the manufacturing field,” stated Robert Pricone, CEO of 10x Technology.
“Winning this award gives us the exposure we need to build 10x
Technology into a global organization that will continue to improve the
way we live.”

Ecovative Design (New York, United States) creates innovative
biocomposite materials from agricultural byproducts and mushroom
mycelium – a filamentous tissue that acts as an adhesive. Ecovative
Design proposes an environmentally-friendly process, which doesn’t use
petroleum, chemicals, or toxic resins, with an LCA-verified impact,
using renewable and cheap raw materials. The Ecovative product range
includes foams and rigid products included in the composition of
protective packaging, furniture and insulation. Also composed of chitin
(the biopolymer found in crab shells!), mycelium is naturally water- and
fire-resistant and thermally stable. Such properties make Ecovative’s
technology a credible alternative to traditional foams and other
synthetic materials. “As Saint-Gobain celebrates its 350 years in
business, Ecovative could bring a new material platform. With
Saint-Gobain’s prestige and recognition, and thanks to this prize, we
will be able to take our technology the next step further, grow it
larger and introduce it onto a market requiring a scale change,”
explains Gavin McIntyre, cofounder and Chief Scientist of Ecovative
Design.

The third place award, and $15,000 (about €14,000), went to US Bionics.

US Bionics (California, United States) develops robotic
exoskeletons for medical and industrial markets. In the industrial
market, these exoskeletons, or robotic systems, assist workers while
they perform repetitive physical tasks and help reduce the amount of
muscle strain experienced by the wearers. By reducing the risk of
musculoskeletal injuries, US Bionics’ exoskeletons help businesses make
significant savings, while improving productivity and the quality of
life for operators. The US-based start-up, founded in 2013, proposes low
cost, ergonomic, highly-advanced exoskeletons that are able to withstand
harsh environments, such as the MAX exoskeleton (or Modeular Agile
eXoskeleton). It is composed of three modules that can be worn together
or separately, for the three most common areas of work-related injury:
the trunk, legs, and arms. Simple to use and to put on, these
exoskeletons are particularly designed for operators in construction
sites, shipbuilding facilities, assembly lines, distribution centers and
delivery services. “Our big opportunity is to be the first to integrate
exoskeletons into the industrial setting. I think we really have the
expertise to come in and help workers increase productivity and reduce
the risk of injury. We think our devices will completely change the way
that workers work,” stated Homayoon Kazerooni, cofounder and CEO of US
Bionics.

New to this 2015 edition was a fourth prize, the Saint-Gobain Community
Award, presented to the start-up who received the most number of votes
during an internal campaign open to Saint-Gobain employees all over the
world. This $10,000 prize (about €9,000) was also awarded to US
Bionics, topping the polls, in addition to the third prize awarded
by the jury.

The process of evaluating the applications to the Competition to narrow
to the finalists competing at Greenbuild involved an external panel of
experts, including Rick Fedrizzi, CEO and Founding Chair, U.S. Green
Building Council, and CEO, Green Business Certification, Inc.
“Saint-Gobain’s NOVA Innovation Competition is the perfect example of
how business is using sustainability as an innovation platform,” said
Rick Fedrizzi. “The quality of the submissions was significant, and the
breadth and creativity of the ideas that are being pursued by the
applicants are astonishing. The competition and the broader Greenbuild
environment are great platforms to showcase them and the potential value
they hold for the entire world. I congratulate the winners and thank
Saint-Gobain for holding the grand finale at Greenbuild, with the USGBC.”

In addition to these awards, all participants in the NOVA Innovation
Competition will have the opportunity to establish potential
partnerships with Saint-Gobain’s businesses as part of co-development,
licensing or collaboration agreements.

“For 350 years, Saint-Gobain has grown through innovation, pushing back
boundaries and inventing new solutions to transform the world we live
in. Today, Saint-Gobain is one of the world’s top 100 innovative
businesses. In this anniversary year, with the NOVA Competition, we are
well and truly focused on the future and delighted to honor these
promising start-ups,” stated Didier Roux, Vice President R&D and
Innovation of Saint-Gobain.

ABOUT SAINT-GOBAIN

In 2015, Saint-Gobain is celebrating its 350th
anniversary, 350 reasons to believe in the future. Backed by its
experience and its capacity to continuously innovate, Saint-Gobain, the
world leader in the habitat and construction market, designs,
manufactures and distributes high-performance and building materials
providing innovative solutions to the challenges of growth, energy
efficiency and environmental protection. With 2014 sales of €38.3
billion*, Saint-Gobain operates in 66 countries and has more than
170,000 employees. For more information about Saint-Gobain, visit www.saint-gobain.com
and the twitter account @saintgobain
or download the “Saint-Gobain Shareholder” application for tablet and
smartphone.

*restated excluding Verallia

ABOUT NOVA EXTERNAL VENTURING

NOVA External Venturing is the Saint-Gobain team in charge of
identifying and evaluating start-ups with a view to making mutually
beneficial, long-term development partnerships with the Group’s
activities. They combine Saint-Gobain’s marketing, manufacturing and R&D
resources with the freshest ideas in construction and advanced
materials. Since NOVA was set up in 2006, over 2,900 start-ups have been
screened and more than 70 partnerships signed. These partnerships can
take various forms: co-development, licensing, manufacturing or
commercial agreements, investments, joint-ventures. For more information
about Saint-Gobain’s NOVA External Venturing team, please visit www.nova-saint-gobain.com.